Father's Day
by tvaddict23
Summary: The British philosopher, G.H. Lewes once stated, “Murder, like talent, seems occasionally to run in families”. ElliotOlivia Will be mostly T rated but will have a few heavy M's later UPDATED 29.9
1. PART 1

DISCLAIMER – Not mine. Belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. But I do love having them do things that'll never be seen on the screen.

**A/N – Yeah it's gonna be E/O, also A/U but only coz they're not gonna be doing it on the show any time ever.**

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Part 1

- DET. OLIVIA BENSON'S APT -

- MARCH 30 5AM -

Olivia woke with the cobwebs of dreams still clinging to her conscious. Looking at the time, she saw that there was still an hour to go before she had to get up. As she lay back down, she closed her eyes, and tried to recapture the wraith called sleep. Within minutes, she knew it would be of no use. The spectre had left. She sat up disgusted. In a job where you got as much sleep as you could while you were able, she hated the fact that she had missed out on even an hour.

Throwing the bed sheets aside, she gave in to wakefulness. With her elbows on her knees, she rubbed her face and sighed. Nothing left to do but go for a run. She pulled on some jogging pants, a sweat top and running shoes, and went into the cold and dark NYC morning for a run.

The cold air seared her lungs and the frozen dew crunched under her feet. Although still tired, she took deep lung fulls of the chilled, relatively clean air. After fifteen minutes, she had warmed considerably and felt invigorated. She sprinted, the last 500 yards, back to her apartment, and leaped up the stairs two at a time to her door.

As she slid her key into the lock, the phone started ringing. Opening the door, and throwing her keys onto the coffee table, she grabbed the receiver off the hook.

"Benson!"

"Hey sweetie, where've you been?" Her new boyfriend asked.

"Couldn't get back to sleep and went for a run. What's up?"

"Just wanted to talk. Thank you again for last night."

Olivia smiled as she caught her breath. "Aren't I supposed to be the one thanking YOU for the lovely evening?"

With a deep laugh that warmed the pit of her stomach, Ed said, "Well, I'm a very untraditional kinda guy. I'll even let you pay the next time we go out."

That elicited a laugh from Olivia. "I'm not that untraditional. Besides, you earn considerably more than I do, and you don't even have to get out of bed to do it."

With mock horror Ed countered. "You make me sound like I earn my money through improper means."

Still laughing Olivia said, "If I'd make the same investments you had, I could do the same thing."

Ed chuckled. "If you married me, we could lie together in bed all day. Doing improper things."

Olivia fell silent.

"Hey, Liv, just kidding. You can start breathing again." Ed laughed.

"I knew that." Her heart still pounding she joined in his laughter. "Thanks for the call Ed. See you tonight."

"Good-bye sexy," he said affectionately.

As she hung up the phone, she shook her head. She'd been seeing Ed for almost six weeks and aside from Elliot, and the other guys she worked with, Ed was one of the finest men she'd ever met. He was an ex-cop who'd discovered he was as good at investment banking as he was at being a cop, plus it was less stress, and more monetarily satisfying, though it lacked the social satisfaction that police work bought.

He was someone she could talk about her day with, without him being either grossed out, or overly interested. This was a characteristic of some of her dates that totally freaked her out. She felt as though they were trying to get tips on how to rape and murder without being caught.

Stepping into the shower, she thought about something that she usually ignored; Her future, and stranger still, her future with Ed in it.

Towelling herself dry, she padded back to her bedroom to change for work.

Twenty minutes and two cups of tea later, she stepped out of her front door, and locked it behind her. A small figure on the stairwell caught her attention.

"Hey Mickey. What're you doing out here?" She sat down next to him.

"Mom didn't come home till about 6, and she wanted me to get out, coz she says I make too much noise, and she and her new boyfriend need to sleep."

Olivia's heart almost broke. She'd been keeping an eye on her young neighbour, and was constantly dismayed at the neglect he seemed to suffer. She sat down next to him.

"Have you had anything to eat honey?"

He nodded his head, "Yeah, had some Cornflakes." He stood, embarrassed by the questioning. "I gotta get to school Miss Benson."

It was then that Olivia saw the bruise on his face.

"Mickey!"

He turned slowly. Olivia touched the bruise lightly. "What happened kiddo?"

Mickey's face went a little red. "Uh, got into a fight at school." With an uneasy laugh he added, "You should see the other guy though, what a mess."

She was about to question him, when he said, "I'm gonna miss my bus if I don't get going."

Her young neighbour sprinted down the stairs. It hadn't been the first time that she'd seen him locked out of his apartment, and he'd had bruises before. He always explained them away with a laugh about a fight, or being clumsy. Working at SVU though was beginning to raise her suspicions that there was more going on that he was telling. Olivia made up her mind to keep a close eye on him.


	2. PART 2

**Part 2**

- CENTRAL PARK -  
- THE RAMBLES -  
- 6.15 AM -

Hunched over the woman looking almost like a lion at the belly of a gazelle, he watched a woman run past. With a pang of regret, he knew that their precious bond and time together was over. He took the delicate silver bracelet from her porcelain wrist and placed into a velvet jewelers bag before pocketing the trophy.

Walking down the path, he greeted the morning joggers. He felt invincible as they greeted him in turn. Silly sheep, knew nothing.

He had possessed her. Watched the light fade from her eyes. Guided her to the next level. He felt proud to have been able to give the whore that gift.

On his way down East 79th Street, he saw his next beneficiary. She was on her way to the Park. He would meet her again tomorrow. Find out where she lived and what she did during the day.

It would take time, but so had the others, and he could relive their purification whenever he wanted.

- SVU SQUAD ROOM -  
- MARCH 30 9AM -

She walked into the squad room half an hour late. Cragen was already giving out assignments for the day. She took off her coat and sat down.

"Sorry I'm late. What's happening?"

"You'll want to put that coat back on. We have a D.B in Central Park," Cragen said. "Rape, homicide."

Olivia sighed as she stood and pulled her coat back on. Elliot looked at her as they headed for an unmarked squad car.

"You alright?"

She unlocked the driver's side and slid behind the wheel. "Sure, didn't get much sleep is all."

Her partner for over five years, Elliot thought there was something more wrong than just not getting enough sleep, but he knew that pressing her about it would be counter productive.

- CENTRAL PARK -  
- CRIME SCENE -

They arrived at the scene of the crime, to be greeted by the M.E. Melinda Warner. She led them to the dead body, which was under a hastily erected blue tarp, to keep the rain from washing away any more evidence. The weather had turned into a dreary New York spring day and it had been raining for most of the morning.

As they neared, Olivia felt the oppression of the day press in on her. The rain sounded like muffled gunfire on the tarp and the air quality had worsened as the humidity rose. Condensation bellowed from the lips of the people involved in finding out who this pitiable woman was and why someone had felt it necessary to kill her.

Warner started summating what she knew. "She's about 25. Looks like she was attacked while out running. We had a similar case a month ago. Personally I would say there's a serial killer who's beginning to escalate. I'll have to get her back to the autopsy room, but I can tell you now with almost one hundred per cent certainty that there'll be no traces of semen. He will have used a foreign object. I'll be able to give you a definite after the autopsy."

Warner lifted the sheet that had so far kept the victim's dignity. Pointing to the numerous stab wounds that were concentrated in the breast and genital area, the ME continued. "She has over 100 small stab wounds same as the other vic and like the other vic, no single wound was deep enough to kill her. The lack of blood around some of the wounds show that they occurred near death. Blood loss didn't effect her death; that came from ligature strangulation." She pointed to the young woman's neck. "As you can see, the ligature is still around her throat. Common twine, sold at every hardware store, supermarket and corner store in the country. Totally untraceable. No ID on her, hopefully we'll be able to identify her when someone files a missing persons report. I dare say she'll be missed before too long."

The coroner covered the body back up and signalled for the morgue attendants to take her away, as the CSU searched for any trace evidence surrounding the scene.

"Thanks. We'll get started trying to ID her," Elliot said. Olivia had started walking towards their car. Elliot ran to catch up.

"You sure you're alright? It's not the case is it?" he asked as they got into the car.

"I'm fine. As for the case, I'll never be less upset than the first time I saw a D.B. Nah, I was just thinking about the MO. Warner said there'd been one about a month ago. You remember it?"

Elliot thought for a while, going through the catalogue of gruesome crimes he'd seen in the last month or so. "I don't know Liv. There's nothing that's jumping out at me."

"Yeah, but think. There was no semen or body fluids. She was raped with a foreign object, then strangled. I know Warner's right, I've seen that exact same MO before."

As they pulled into the precinct lot Olivia's cell phone started chirping. "Benson…Hi Ed." She smiled. "No, you're not interrupting…Sure we're still on for tonight. I should be finished by at least 9. Yeah, 10 would be fine… Sure, thank you…love you too… Bye."

Elliot raised an eyebrow. "Getting pretty serious huh?"

"Don't know," she said as they got out of the car. "He called me early this morning just to thank me for last night."

Smiling Elliot said, "And what was there to thank you for?"

Giving his arm a friendly punch Olivia replied, "Don't be dirty. He's a perfect gentleman."

"Where's the fun in that? Besides, is he blind? Been how long now?"

"A month, and I didn't say he hasn't tried, I've been burned too many times. Gonna take a little more than a month for him to get me into bed."

They had just entered the bullpen, when Olivia turned to him. "What did you mean by 'is he blind'?"

Elliot lowered his voice. "Come on Liv, you're a gorgeous woman."

Her eyes widened. "Elliot!"

As they sat at their desks facing each other. Elliot said, "What? I'm a normal red-blooded male and I'm not dead. Any man straight or gay for that matter can see that you're a very desirable, sexy woman." His voice had dropped to a low whisper.

"Elliot, Kathy's only been dead for a year," she replied in an equally low whisper.

"That's right, coming up on thirteen months and I won't lie, sometimes it still hurts A LOT. But I'm not planning on being celibate for the rest of my life either. It's not what Kathy would have wanted. I've grieved and I'm going to start living again. Anyway, I'm giving my partner a compliment is all."

"Okay," she said slightly mollified. "Thanks for the compliment." She finished the conversation and turned to her computer. Bringing up the Police Database she typed in **picquering **and **victims **and waited for the results.


	3. PART 3

**DISCLAIMER - **Not mine - belong to NBC & Dick Wolf**  
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**A/N - **Thankyou to all reviewers, as you may know reviews feed the creative beast. Yeah it's lame, but sincerely, thanks!

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**Part 3**

Concentrating on the computer screen, Olivia didn't notice that Elliot was still looking at her. One desk over, the other two detectives, John Munch and Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola were working on another case.

Fin nudged John under the desk. Munch looked up and Fin nodded in Olivia and Elliot's direction.

John was smiling broadly when Elliot looked up, scowled flushed a bright red and started shuffling his papers around.

Olivia was oblivious to the boys' grinning and nudging each other. Her computer beeped a few times and came up with a list of over 100 reports with picquering covering a 12-month period. She scrolled through the descriptions of each assault looking for the signature, not just the MO.

She finally hit on a report filed on a Lauren McNish. Printing the file, Olivia read it aloud. "Here it is, Lauren McNish, prostitute. She was found in an alleyway, strangled, and stabbed over 100 times. Raped by a foreign object, no trace of fluids."

Elliot listened attentively.

"Remember, at the time we had nothing to go off? There were no leads from the crime scene and seeing it occurred in the red-light district. We figured it was a one off."

Elliot nodded as he remembered the case, while Olivia turned back to keep searching through the files, finding an additional 3 murders with similar signatures. All had remained unsolved with few clues found at the scenes and no leads. Olivia printed off the files.

"Elliot! Check it out." She handed the papers across the table. He read through the files. The other two detectives wandered over to take a look as well.

"You know they have a different MO," Munch said.

"Oh come on John! How long have you been a detective? You know that MO isn't as reliable as 'signature'."

George who'd just arrived took the files from the other three and read through them. "Olivia's right. Now days signatures are what's used to link together multiple murders, to make a serial killer. The MO is only a staging thing. The real excitement for the killer is the psychological release that gets him off. And that's what remains the constant."

Olivia flashed John a triumphant grin, pleased that her hunch had been right. "This guy's been doin' this longer than we thought. And he's very good at it. I told you I remembered the MO. The doer has been getting away with this for a very long time."

Elliot stood, "We gotta show these to Cragen."

Knocking at the open door to get his attention, they entered when he muttered, "Come!" without looking up.

Olivia closed the door behind them. Elliot handed the files to the older man behind the desk.

"What this?" He asked flicking through the papers.

"Olivia found them." Elliot stated leaning against the closed door as he let his partner take over. She sat in a chair opposite the captain.

"That homicide that we were called to this morning, Warner said there was an identical homicide a month ago. I remembered it. We didn't have any leads, and there was nothing found at the crime scene. There was nothing to go off, until today! I ran a further search, and came up with those four additional cases.'

Cragen scanned the files. "This should have been picked up ages ago."

"Yeah, but aside from Lauren McNish, the others were committed in different precincts, and all but one of the other three were prostitutes. I know it's not PC, but they don't tend to be a high priority for most divisions. Plus, there have been no clues, no DNA has ever been found at the scenes. The ligatures have always been generic rope or twine, available at hundreds of stores all over the city. There are no leads, because who ever is doing this, is leaving absolutely no clues behind. He knows what he's doing, and he's not going to stop."

Looking up Cragen smiled a little. "You just sounded like Huang."

"Thanks. I think." Olivia said.

"Okay, what are you waiting for, go through the files, see if there's anything that you can link, and talk to George, get him to give you some kind of profile you can work off."

Nodding, Olivia said, "He's outside, and he's already agreed, that it's a signature killer."

"Okay, he's agreed. That's great. Now maybe he can give us an idea of who we should be looking for."

Olivia and Elliot left the office and started filling in the resident psychologist on what was happening.

Elliot turned to George. "Okay, so how do you propose we catch him? His 6 victims have been of different social status, and all been looked at by different precincts."

"He'll be well educated, probably white, as he only killed white women, or women of Caucasian appearance. Killers tend to stay within their ethnic groups although it is not necessarily true. He is familiar with the areas he kills in, and feels comfortable enough to take his time in doing what he wants, or needs to do. He's probably had some history of either stalking, breaking and entering; he's probably even been arrested for exposing himself. He is escalating. If we don't find him soon, it's only going to get worse, in terms of what he does to his victims, and the time between kills." Having given them his ideas, George smiled and left.


	4. PART 4

**_DISCLAIMER – Not mine. Belong to Dick Wolf and NBC._**

**_A/N – First of all, I would like to thank everyone who's been reading, and those that have left reviews. Thanks to Picard's Angel for her support._**

**Part 4**

The two detectives sat and started reading through the old files. As Olivia started reading, an ice-cold shock ran up her spine. The second victim had been discovered in the very same alley in which she had been violently conceived in 1968.

Elliot looked up as she gasped. The colour drained from his partners face. "Liv, what's wrong?"

Silently she handed him the file of the second victim. Jorja Anderson a prostitute who'd called it a night, and had been on her way home.

John and Fin both looked up as Elliot read the file, and realized what had shocked her. Glancing over a the other two detectives, he shook his head, making it clear that he was able to take care of the problem, the men nodded, and returned to their own case.

Elliot went to Olivia's side, and looked into her eyes.

"Hey, it's a coincidence. That's all."

Staving off the impending emotional flood, she nodded. "I know. It was a shock is all."

Looking at his watch Elliot saw that it was well past 6pm. "Let's go have some dinner, get back to it when we've had something to eat?"

They went to a small diner less than a block away. Elliot was solicitous, gauging his partners mood. He tried to get her to loosen up and forget about the coincidence of locations in which both her mother and one of the victims had been attacked.

"Katie has a soccer game this weekend, and she's asked me to ask you along."

Olivia looked at him surprised that his children would want her company. "Oh, okay. Sure."

She knew his children well. When you're partners with someone for any length of time, you become a part of their family. Their partnership was no exception. She'd had more than a few dinners at his place over the years, and had even spent a few Thanksgiving's and one Christmas with Elliot's family. Since Kathy's death, she'd seen much more of them, having dinner with them at least once a week. She was still a little surprised though that Kathleen would want her at her soccer game.

She raised her eyebrow in question. Elliot knew exactly why.

"I think she just wants someone without testosterone cheering her on." He answered her unasked question. "Kathy used to make it to most of the games, now that the soccer season's started again, … well she just wants you there. Can you make it?"

His voice had thickened somewhat, and Olivia saw the shadow of love that Elliot still had for his wife.

She placed her hand over his. "I'd love to." Her smile was infectious and he returned it.

"Thanks, Katie'll be happy." He looked at his watch. "We really should get back or they're gonna think we've gone AWOL."

Olivia threw a few bills on the table to cover the meal and tip and followed Elliot out.

On the short walk back to the precinct, Elliot looked over at her. She was definitely more relaxed, which made him smile.

Catching the smile Olivia asked, "What's that smile for?"

"Was just pleased that you're coming to the game. Of course you know that means you havta attend the after game BBQ."

With a shrug she said, "Sure should be fun."

Arriving back at the 1 – 6, Olivia grabbed a Marker and started covering the perspex board, in what they knew, and any possible links. It would hold all their information, so they'd be able to make links, and hopefully wheedle out some clues as to whom they were looking for.

_**Sorry this chapter was a little boring – and short. Promise next one will be longer and more interesting. You can still leave a review though**_


	5. PART 5

**DISCLAIMER** – Not mine. Belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. But I do love having them do things that'll never be seen on the screen.

**A/N** – First of all, I would like to thank everyone who's been reading, and those that have left reviews. Well, you all know how much they mean. Okay, the chapter's not longer than the previous one, but I personally think it's much better than the previous one. Let me know what you thought, huh?

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**Part 5**

At 10pm Olivia's cell phone started chirping. She looked at the time. "Shit, I forgot about Ed."

Looking at the caller ID, she confirmed who it was. "Hi Ed…Yeah, no I don't think I'll be able to tonight…Got a hot case it's looking pretty bad…I know…I'm sorry…I'll call you tomorrow…You too…Nite."

She placed the phone back on the desk and continued reading. The men watched her, after a few minutes, she felt the six eyes boring into her.

Looking up she asked, "What?"

Elliot answered. "You shouda gone, I could've done the work for a few hours."

"Thanks, I know. But I found the link, and I wanna see where it takes me."

Fin spoke up from where he was sitting working on his own case. "Damn it girl, when was the last time you met anyone like Ed? Elliot said he's got it covered. Take a break."

Olivia smiled. "Thanks Fin, but really it's fine. He's an ex-cop. He understands."

The conversation was closed.

For the next hour, aside from the occasional rustle of papers and standing to get either coffee, or to stare at the chart, there was silence.

John and Fin left shortly after 11pm, but Elliot and Olivia stayed, pouring over every word of the earlier reports.

At 1am, Cragen left his office to find his two best detectives buried in old files. "Guys, I know you wanna get this asshole, but we're still only on the paper trail. Go home! You can start re-interviewing all the suspects and witnesses tomorrow."

Both his detectives looked as though they were going to argue, but he held his hand up, to hush them. "That's an order."

Four red-rimmed eyes looked up at him. They would have remained, wanting to get as much work done as possible, but they'd been there for 17 hours and knew they were too tired to do any decent work. They stood in unison, grabbed their coats and left the precinct.

"You going straight home?" Elliot asked his partner.

"Yeah, too tired for anything else. You better get home, I sure Maureen's worried."

Elliot flashed on the face of his oldest daughter. She had been the caretaker of the other 3 children after their mother had died. He was so proud of the way she kept things together, along with going to college.

Elliot looked at her bleary eyed and nodded. "You're right. See ya in the morning."

Getting into his care, he started the long drive home to Queens.

**- SVU SQUAD ROOM -**

**- MARCH 31 10am -**

Reading through an old witness statement, Olivia was surprised when a bouquet of flowers was placed in front of her nose.

"Hey beautiful. Missed you last night." Olivia looked up into Ed's green eyes.

The eyes of every man in the bullpen were on her. "Ed, you shouldn't have," she smiled. "But I'm glad you did."

She stood, and he grabbed her waist, kissing her passionately. She pulled away. Her face was flushed partly from the kiss, partly from the audience she knew was watching intently.

Trying to regain some decorum, Olivia pushed away from him saying urgently, "Ed, you gotta leave."

"Come on sweet heart." He grabbed her waist again.

"No Ed! I havta stay. You how the work can be," she pulled away from his embrace.

"Yeah, and I also know that you can stop when you need to."

"You never worked the SVU. We're running an unknown countdown for an unknown victim, and I can't just leave because you want a romantic lunch." She sat back down.

"Listen Olivia, I like you. I know it's only been a month, but I think I might even love you. You're funny, smart and incredibly sexy, but it's clear that you're more invested in your job than any relationship. The bottom line is I don't want to be second in line to a job. I know how stressful this job is, and how much harder on you as a woman, let alone the only woman on a team of men investigating sex crimes, crimes against the elderly and young. I admit I have no idea how hard it is for you everyday. But I want more than you seem to be willing to give. If you ever transfer to a regular division," he laughed a little. "Like there's any such thing. Anyway, I really wish you the best. Good luck Olivia Benson. Enjoy the flowers."


	6. PART 6

**DISCLAIMER - **Owned by Dick Wolf and NBC

** A/N - **Thank you to everyone who's left reviews they are very appreciated.

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**Part 6**

With that he walked out. Olivia watched him leave, stunned. She had thought that this would last, that she'd finally found someone who understood what it meant to her to have this job in the SVU. The dedication, and the emotional toll police work could take. It was the most emotionally difficult unit there was.

Without a word, she turned back to the file she'd been reading. After a few minutes of silence, she looked up to find everyone looking at her.

"What, you've never seen a break-up. Let's get back to work." She surprised herself, her voice hadn't even broken. She was so close to tears, she could feel them at the back of her throat, and stinging her eyes. She looked back at the file in front of her, which was swimming through the sheen of tears threatening to fall. She knew the others were still looking at her.

"Damn it! Quit staring at me!" she yelled her voice finally cracking, and the tears falling. She stood and did something she swore she'd never do, she ran crying to the rest room.

Elliot looked around. "Come one guys. Enough already, get back to work."

He walked to the ladies room, knocking lightly. "Liv?"

"Go away El. I don't wanna talk."

Standing outside the door he tried again. "Come on Liv. You need to talk about this."

Slowly he opened the door. Olivia was standing at a washbasin, splashing water on her face. Elliot took one of the hand towels from the dispenser and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said thickly. He stood next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned and rested her head on his shoulder. He put his arms around her and pulled her close. She started sobbing again.

Elliot smoothed her hair and let her cry. After a few minutes her crying tapered off. Sniffing, Olivia turned back to the basin. Elliot grabbed a few more paper towels so she could clean herself up.

"Thanks El," she said uncharacteristically shy.

"You did the same for me when Kathy died."

Nodding she said, "Your wife was involved in a drive-by shooting. She was in a coma for three weeks before you were forced to switch off life support. You had every right, and reason to cry. A man dumps me, and I start crying like I'm 15 and the boy of my dreams didn't ask me to the dance. I wish Alex were here."

Elliot smiled. "I'll put a wig on if you want, get a couple of pints of Double Chocolate Choc-Chip ice cream, which we'll eat while watching 'When Harry Met Sally'."

Olivia let out a small laugh. "I hate that movie." Sniffing a little she said, "Actually, I prefer 'Lake Placid' when I'm upset."

Elliot smiled. "Okay, whatever pushes your buttons, 'Lake Placid' it is. When do you want me to come over?"

Olivia's smile broadened as she grabbed another hand towel, and started cleaning her make-up. "Thanks Elliot, you're sweet, but I'll be fine. Give me a few minutes to clean up."

"Sure, you're going to be okay?"

"Yeah, thanks again. You're a good man." Elliot smiled as he left.

Olivia looked at her face. Damn she hated crying, even more so in front of her colleagues. She splashed some more cold water on her face, straightened her clothes and went back to her desk.

The others wisely kept reading as Olivia took her seat. Elliot gave her an encouraging smile as they both went back to trying to find some clue as to who the killer was.

At 6pm Olivia left without saying a word. Elliot watched her walk out. Munch and Fin watched him. "Well, you going to see what's wrong?" Munch finally asked.

"Probably just got tired of looking at your ugly mug," Fin shot back.

Elliot grabbed his coat. "Shut up guys. You really upset her this morning, how about next time showing a bit of tact huh?"

Both Munch and Fin had the decency to look sheepish as Elliot followed his partner into the evening.


	7. PART 7

**DISCLAIMER - **Belong to Dick Wolf and NBC

**A/N -** Last part was kinda short so here's the next one. Hope you all enjoy.

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**Part 7**

- SOMEWHERE IN MANHATTAN -

- 7.30PM -

He stood next to the dumpster and took the silver bracelet that he'd taken the other day out of his pocket. Lingering in the shadows, he watched the street. It was a warm night to be wearing the overcoat, but the fact that it was black made him blend into the shadows. He knew no one would notice him. Besides, he'd not chosen another yet.

The adrenaline rush from the last one was still coursing through his veins. It would be a while before he would need to choose another, but when he did, he'd find out everything about her, and then he would purify her.

Leaving the dark alley he walked back to his apartment. Tomorrow was going to be a big day and he needed to rest, but first he would write in his diary, as he had done everyday for the past 15 years. It soothed him, and let him keep track of what he knew, and what he still had to learn.

I've searched for a few days now. I thought I had her picked but she wasn't impure as I had thought. For now though, the thought of how the last whore looked when she was purified, has kept my spirits up. Tomorrow there's so much to do. I'll have to keep the bracelet near, as I'm sure it'll be the only thing that will calm me and make my other life livable.

- DET. OLIVIA BENSON'S APT -

- 7.45PM -

Olivia looked at the buzzer. She knew it was Elliot, and she knew he had a key. Slowly she stood and pressed the intercom button.

"Liv?"

"Elliot, I really don't need company right now." She said leaning against the wall.

"Bullshit! Come on Liv, let me up. Or I'll be forced to use my key."

Sighing, she buzzed him in and unlocked the door.

Minutes later there was a knock on the door. "Door's open," she called from the couch.

He entered holding a tub of double chocolate, choc chip ice cream, and no doubt a copy of Lake Placid.

She smiled wanly as he grinned and put the ice cream in her freezer. "Got the blond wig in the car, if you insist."

He handed her the DVD which she saw was indeed Lake Placid. She smiled again as she loaded it into the player.

Elliot plopped down beside her and grabbed the remote. "Let the fun begin," he said pressing play.

After the scene where the sheriff pulls the torso of a diver from the water, Elliot looked at her. "This is the movie you watch to cheer yourself up!"

She nodded. "Yeah, the funny bits are coming up. Besides, the sheriff is hilarious."

Elliot shrugged, "Well, who can figure out the taste of some people." She punched his arm lightly, but he was pleased to see some of the tension leaving his partner.

"You ready to talk?" he asked.

She looked up at him. "You really don't know much about having a 'girls night' do you?"

He shrugged, "Not really, no. Blame it on the Y chromosome."

She smiled, "Well, next is the ice cream." And stood to get it.

"Oh."

She took two spoons with her, and handed him one as she sat back down.

"No bowls?"

"Nope, dig in. I don't stand on ceremony when eating double chocolate, choc chip ice cream and watching Lake Placid."

Scooping a large amount of ice cream onto her spoon, she ate most of it in one mouthful.

Elliot watched her with a level of disbelief.

"What?" she asked around a mouthful of chocolate ice cream.

Grinning he said, "Nothing, just never seen you eat that way before."

Olivia swallowed, and immediately replaced it with what was left on the spoon. Seconds later that mouthful had also disappeared. "You wanna hurry, or I'll eat it all," she said scooping up another portion.

Grinning, he dipped his own spoon in and came up with at least twice as much as she had. He shoved it all into his mouth and tried to grin. After a short minute, he'd managed to swallow all of it, and about half a minute after that he moaned in pain and grabbed his head.

Olivia's smiled vanished. "You alright?"

Elliot shook his head. "Ice cream head ache."

Relieved that her partner wasn't actually going to keel over on her, Olivia started laughing and went to the kitchen.

Still in the throes of his ice cream headache, Elliot moaned. "It's not funny."

Holding a glass of warm water, Olivia replied, "Sure it is. At least I wasn't so much of a pig that I got a brain freeze. Here drink this it'll make it go away."

Slowly taking a few sips, Elliot felt the pain in his head vanish. Still smiling Olivia said, "How old are you anyway, like 10? I think that's how old I was the last time I had a brain freeze. It was summer, and I'd eaten a snow cone too fast. What's your excuse?"

Elliot scowled, but there was a glint of humour in his eyes. "Just you wait till you need to have someone to watch Lake Placid with again."

She hugged him. "I'm sorry. But that was so childish, it was funny."

He returned the hug, and held on longer than was necessary. A small jolt of electricity seemed to go through them, and it was like they were bonded. The smile vanished from both their faces, as they drew each other closer.

Their lips brushed together, and they almost pulled apart, before Elliot pulled Olivia even closer, and deepened the kiss. In the background something was happening with a helicopter, but he was only dimly aware of it, as he tasted Olivia.

After a minute, they drew apart, both a little dazed.

Olivia giggled a little, and Elliot looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Wow, … that was … unexpected, but nice. And it never would've happened if it'd been Alex."

He smiled. "I don't know, kinda turns me on. You, Alex… Mmmm."

She had to laugh again at the lecherous smile on his face. The moment over they watched the rest of the movie. Olivia was nearly asleep when he got up to leave. He helped her to bed and made sure all was locked up before he went home.

* * *

A/N 2 - Review icon's just a short mouse move to your left. Please click and leave a review. 


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